To take DS to reading festival?

[Bettyhop]

He will be 15 weeks old, exclusively breastfed. We only have a day ticket for one day and really are only interested in watching the headliner (foo fighters). I plan to have him in a sling with ear defenders.
Am I being unreasonable?
We do have childcare options but have never left him before. He is also a very clingy and unsettled baby and would worry about asking parents etc to look after him for 12-14 hours and would worry about ds being so unhappy and his mummy isn't there. We booked whilst I was pregnant as our first day out without baby but now I don't want to go without him.
Thanks

Don't take that as consensus OP, I took mine at the same age and it was fine.

No. People throw bottles of piss.

Definitely not OP, tempting as it might be. In my experience Reading and Leeds fests in particular don't attract the best crowds. I have been kicked in the head, had a pint of beer thrown all over me and been splattered with urine. No place for a baby.

I wouldn’t take my baby at that age
And I wouldn’t go myself

What is your plan if it is really hot.

Thanks to everyone who's been supportive and rationally explained wholly valid reasons why it's not a good idea.
To everyone else...please understand that this was an idea for consideration hence asking opinions. I have never been to Reading festival before so cannot be expected to know what it's like! And I am obviously fully aware that I need to give things up when I had a baby...if you read my earlier post I am more than happy for dp to take a friend! I've also given up my job for a year whilst on maternity leave, holidays, my figure, my sleep and a whole host of other things so I am more than aware that I should make sacrifices now that I'm a mother...

I've been to Reading about fifteen times. I would definitely not recommend taking a baby, especially to a headliner set that would get as rammed as Foo Fighters will. Even if you're standing at the back, when you try to leave at the end, along with 60,000 other people, there is a lot of jostling and it can be crazy. That's without all the drunkenness, people openly using drugs and piss throwing that some idiots there do.

I love it there btw, and would be gutted to miss Foos in your position, but it's definitely not the place for a child.

The headliners at Reading are always really really loud. Sometimes the bass was so loud it made me feel sick (which is a known phenomenom) I wouldnt subject a baby to that.

I've taken the kids to the Leeds half of this when they were small, around 5 from memory. They loved it but were of an age to appreciate it.

A 15 week old I'd probably give it a miss.

Oh God,my teen ds is going this year,I'm getting a bit twitchy about it 😱

I've been to Leeds and Reading, and Reading is the worst for crowds by a considerable distance. Leeds is much more chill.

And I wouldn't take a baby to the bands. Ears, quite apart from anything else.

When you have children you have to give up some things or use childcare thanks for the insight I'm sure many of us, having given over our bodies to the growing being, the either pushed it out a small hole or been sliced open, having given up sleep and some of our favourite foods, possibly become a 2 hourly milking station, gi en up or suspended our carriers etc. all just blithely assumed past week 6 we could lock them in a cupboard and resume normal service

I read the title as 'a reading festival' and I was thinking, 'that sounds AMAZING! YES, take your child to a book festival! Where is it?!'

And then I opened the thread and was so disappointed

I know you’ve answered and won’t be taking him but I’d also worry about exposing a young baby to close crowds of people when the baby is so young and hence more vulnerable to infection and illness. I live in an area where a portion of the population don’t vaccinate, and babies have died from whooping cough. I just wouldn’t take a small baby into a large, close crowd if I didn’t have to.

patted me too. Was confused about the throwing of wee 🙄

Usuallyinthemiddle

Precisely! 'But what about the water damage?!'

I dont think it's ever too soon to get a child interested in books.

if you really want to, and its just a day ticket, then I dont think it will be the end of the world, but I dont think Reading is particularly family friendly, or even friendly to proper adults. Its really teenagery.
Also the rush to get out at the end of the night will be hideous with a baby, in the dark, and very stressful I think for basically a 40 minute festival set. Id really consider going and seeing them as a proper gig rather than a festival and not taking the baby

Don't worry he is already signed up to read and rhyme at the library🤣
Dp has found a friend to go with him. I have also decided it's time to start expressing milk and leaving ds with parents/alone with do for short periods. I have booked to have my hair done as a start instead of a 14 hour day at a festival🤣 thanks everyone x

Result! Good plans.

@SleepingStandingUp for someone who can clearly use sarcasm, you didn't seem to recognise mine?

@PattedPlont try Hay festival